Smashed Cumin Sweet Potatoes with Chimichurri

With fall around the corner, we know sporting events are about to pick up! That means getting together with family and friends to cheer on your favorite teams, eat delicious food and drink great beer. Sometimes, that means going to your favorite bars to watch the game. I love the environment of all being together and eating the greasy bar food but most of the time recreating the bar foods we crave can be just as delicious and something we can all feel good eating.

First up in the raising the Bar Food series are my Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Chimichurri. They are seasoned with garlic and cumin and then dunked in a flavor packed chimichurri sauce. I love my fries but I would choose these 99% of the time…I have to have my fries every now and then though.

This is a super easy recipe and perfect for hosting a game or even to bring along for a potluck tailgate.

First up, we make the chimichurri so the flavors can blender together. In a blender, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lime juice and zest, parsley and salt. Blend on high until smooth. Finely dice the red onion and stir into the rest of the sauce and set aside for flavors to blend. You can blend the red onion right in but I like the texture it adds if it's not, plus the sauce stays bright green then!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut a sweet potato into 2 inch cubes and drizzle them with some olive oil. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven afterwards, flip the potatoes, and return to bake for another 10 minutes.

After those 10 minutes, remove the potatoes and using a flat spatula (works a lot better if there is one that doesn’t have slits) slightly push down on the potatoes to flatten a bit. I don’t like mine to be completely smashed, as they can tend to fall apart. If there doesn’t appear to be any oil on the pan or potatoes, drizzle with a little extra and sprinkle the smashed potatoes with cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes on each side

Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with the chimichurri either on top or on the side to dip! Big tip is to make multiple batches, these babies go fast!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1 large Sweet Potato

1 tbs Olive Oil

1 tbs Ground Cumin

1 tbs Garlic Powder

1 tsp Salt

Chimichurri:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 tbs Red Wine Vinegar

Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

1/2 cup Fresh Parsley

2 Cloves of Garlic

1/4 cup Finely Diced Red Onion

1 tsp Salt

STEP BY STEP

In a blender, add in the chimichurri ingredients besides the red onion; 1/4 cup olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice and zest, garlic cloves, fresh parsley and salt. Blend until almost smooth. Stir in the diced red onion and set aside for flavors to blend.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lined baking sheet with parchment paper, lay out the sweet potato which has been cut into 2 in chunks. Drizzle 1 tbs of olive oil over the top of the potatoes, stir around, and then place in the oven to roast 20 minutes. Remove, flip them over, and roast for another 10 or until golden brown.

Remove the potatoes form the oven and using a flat spatula, smash the potatoes down so they flatten out a bit. Sprinkle the tops with garlic powder, cumin, and salt. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes to finish crisping them up.

Remove them from the oven and place on a dish. Serve with the chimichurri as a dipping sauce and enjoy!